The Bird Cage

Project created by Elaine Lemmer
This custom design featured birds of paradise (the client's favorite blooms) and other exotics punctuated with greens and a few surprises. For a touch of the unexpected, I fashioned a "cage" with water cane and steel grass - such fun! My client requested a tall arrangement. I think the design would be fabulous in a low, wide round to accentuate the features of the cage! I used the leaf curl and pierce technique with several of the aspidistra for interest at the base of my birds.Clients always ask, "how did you do that"? (But we never tell so they keep coming back)!Ingredients:

• Birds of Paradise

• Protea

• Aspidistra

• Podacarpus

• pieris

• Eucalyptus berries

• Queen Ann's Lace

• Water cane

• Steel grass

• Mosses

• Palm

• Floral foam

• heavy deco glass vase

• small stones

Steps:

1. Insert handful of stones into bottom of container for weight and stability.
2. Prepare floral foam and insert slightly above rim of container.
3. Position Birds into foam.
4. Create Cage by cutting equal lengths of cane, taking care to preserve at least 2" above a node at the top of each piece for insertion of steel grass. I used 6 canes.
5. Insert ends of steel grasses across and into the open nodes of the cane.
6. Using bind wire, secure steel grasses where they cross in the center.
7. Add remaining florals as desired.
8. Finish with garden moss to add a rain forest feel and cover mechanics.